August

Plot

Anthony Hopkins made his directorial debut with this adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, recasting the action in Hopkins' homeland of Wales. Ieuan Davies (Anthony Hopkins) has devoted most of his life to managing the estate of Professor Blathwaite (Leslie Phillips); while he's generally been content with his lot in life, lately Ieuan feels he's thrown away his existence and wishes he'd done something with himself. The Professor spends only the summer at his estate, and brings along his second wife, Helen (Kate Burton), whom Ieuan has long loved from afar; his frustrated love for her leads him to drink heavily and contemplate murder and suicide. Family friend Dr. Lloyd (Gawn Grainger) is also attracted to Helen, much to the dismay of Ieuan's niece, a plain woman in love with the good Doctor. In addition to directing and starring in August, Hopkins also composed the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

Released a few years after Vanya on 42nd Street, August suffers mightily in comparison that far superior version of Uncle Vanya. But even on its own terms, August is at best a middling movie. Part of the problem is the screenplay; Julian Mitchell's stilted adaptation reduces Chekhov to bare bones, with the result that one of the classics of world theatre comes across as rather simple minded. A bigger problem, however, is Anthony Hopkins' direction. One of the screen's most gifted and powerful actors, he has no real point of view in his directing debut. Scenes meander without real purpose, beautiful images are captured to no effect, the camera is used to record rather than to observe, and while some of the performances have interesting individual moments, the members of the cast seem to be acting in different movies. Hopkins is much better as an actor than director; his performance does provide some glue to hold things together, and there are isolated wonderful moments. There are also, however, a number of over-the-top excesses that another director would not have allowed him. Kate Burton's icy, robotic performance is damaging, although one assumes the interpretation was guided by the director. August's attractive physical production is a plus, but overall the film is a disappointment. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Anthony Hopkins - Ieuan Davies
• Kate Burton - Helen Blathwaite
• Leslie Phillips - Professor Alexander Blathwaite
• Gawn Grainger - Dr. Michael Lloyd
• Rhian Morgan - Sian Blathwaite

Hugh Lloyd - Thomas (Pocky) Prosser; Beth Morris - Church Woman; Rhoda Lewis - Mair Davies; Rhys Ifans - Griffiths; Terry Rowley - Tom; Huw Garmon - Dafydd Edwards; Menna Trussler - Gwen; Susan Flynn - Rhianon; Ioan Meredith - Quarry Foreman; Minstrel - Dr Lloyd's Dog; Buddug Morgan - Nesta; Victoria Pugh - Housemaid; Hywel Richards - Mr Jenkins; Morgan Ritchie - Morgan Edwards; Myfanwy Talog - Church Woman; Dylan Thomas - Groom; Jâms Thomas - Quarryman; Simon Treves - Quarryman

Credit

Carolyn Bartlett - Casting, Wally Byatt - Casting, Cheryl Nance - Casting, Janette Day - Co-producer, Dany Everett - Costume Designer, Nick Heckstall-Smith - First Assistant Director, Anthony Hopkins - Director, Edward Mansell - Editor, Steve Morrison - Executive Producer, Guy East - Executive Producer, Anthony Hopkins - Composer (Music Score), Eileen Diss - Production Designer, Robin Vidgeon - Cinematographer, June Wyndham-Davies - Producer, Pippa Cross - Producer, Craig McNeil - Producer, Rudi Buckle - Sound/Sound Designer, Julian Mitchell - Screenwriter, Anton Chekhov - Play Author

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